Electric vs Nitro/Glow Fuel Motors for RC Planes

[@tempest411]

I'm 'aspiring' to get back into the hobby after an absence of twenty years. I was flying a combination of pure sailplanes and electrics at the time, but am now determined to master glow engines. They offer more of a challenge, and are just plain 'cooler'. If you can properly tune one to run reliably it's ultimately more satisfying because of the skills you have to develop to make that happen.

[@RCJim]

Go for it!

[@shergillfamily7983]

Great video I fly nitro/glow, electric, edf, turbine and nitro helis. I love the simplicity of electric clean. But for pure sound and adrenaline I’m so sorry for the all of the electric guys. I have to go with nitro and gas planes and helis. It’s something about sound and smoke coming from the exhaust. I have nitro and gas powered warbirds. My electric planes are way too quiet lol I’m an electrical engineer lol😂

[@RCJim]

I fully understand. Keep 'em going!

[@natalefr]

Hi we can use a special sound system for electrical motors but if you are 20meters away you can't hear the noise 😂 and also the sound system is expensive and the speaker heavy, so also for me with an warbird or biplane or reproduction model I prefer nitro engine 🙃 The VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM with electrical engine is the sudden start, is imperative a safety start procedure with your emitter and is imperative a correct programmation of rx failsafe

[@tomcook5813]

I’ll miss the surprise dead stick landings 😊

[@RCJim]

Yes, those were quite exciting back in the good-ol days. But we do have at least one guy at the club that typically flies his plane until the "power down" is triggered by the ESC due to low battery voltage!

[@thewholls7176]

Good video mate all the best from Melbourne Australia I used to have glow motors. My biggest problem with them is they leave horrible oil all over the model it gets into the balsa softens everything it ruins the model over time plus you can fly electric at your local park, it doesn’t draw much attention……. And these days a litre of nitro methane is 10 bucks, and I can use 2 L in an afternoon so there’s that …….. Perhaps gasoline with one in 50 oil mix would be the happy Medium, but I’m yet to try that

[@crog9750]

hi mate i paint the balsa with 5 min epoxy thinned out with a bit of metho to stop the fuel soaking into the plane

[@RCJim]

Just be careful in how you manage your batteries with that chilly weather down there! And, by the way, one advantage of flying at the club is the insurance that goes along with it. Hit someone with your plane at the park, and you could have a big problem!

[@RCJim]

Yes that works, but it's still a bit messy. None-the-less, I did reconsider my decision to go electric after doing my research for my video on managing LiPo batteries!

[@thewholls7176]

@@RCJim its a good idea but a but hard if you fly the ARF’s because they’ve already been covered at the factory….. i prefer building my own

[@johncox7335]

Windex window cleaner spray on and wiped at end of flying day removes oil residue.😊

[@rayscherry2383]

I'll take nitro any day over electric , and I fly both but you didnot talk about cost per flite Penny's for nitro and what50.00 for each battery if you want to fly 3 to 4 time in the afternoon,so if you fly four flite you need 200.00 dollars in batters 50.00 in the electric motor ,39.00 for an esc, now if you fly nitro like I fly, I can buy a 46 for under 200.00 and fill the gass tank all day long for pennys .🎉

[@RCJim]

Here in Australia the glow fuel is really expensive. But a lot of our guys with the bigger planes are going for petrol (gasoline) engines. The fuel then is just a fraction of the cost, and they really roar to life!

[@jager6855]

Been flying nitro engines for fifty years! Electric seems to pair well with small park flyers type planes. Larger planes you spend way more money on batteries there heavy and spend all day waiting for them to charge, to fly for 5-10 minutes per battery. I love the smell of nitro in the morning. LOL

[@22gurbir]

How do you rate an OS GGT engine with a glow engine

[@RCJim]

The gasoline engine develops slightly less power as compared to a 2 stroke glow fuel engine with the same displacement, but more power than a 4 stroke glow fuel engine of the same size. An OS GGT 15 has a displacement of 0.912 cu. in. and is stated to develop 2.32 HP (2.54 HP per cu. in.). The OS Max 95AX (2 stroke) has 0.949 cu. in. displacement and is rated at 2.86 HP (3.01 HP per cu. in.). The OS FS-95V W/F (4 stroke) has 0.95 cu. in. displacement and develops 1.68 HP (1.77 HP per cu. in.).

[@22gurbir]

@@RCJim thanks a lot Jim, this means that OS GGT 15 can be a good replacement option for OS 95 AX due to the high cost of nitro fuel as compared to gasoline, I am talking about the scenario in 🇮🇳 India.

[@RCJim]

Yes, nitro fuel is really expensive here as well. It makes sense that gasoline would deliver more power as much of the nitro fuel is lubricant. Keep in mind that if you are comparing with the 95AX, you will have 19% less power due to the 2 strokes developing more power than the four strokes. Depending on the plane, that might not be an issue for you.

[@22gurbir]

@@RCJim👏great, I would like to know if the OS GGT will be fine on a .60 size plane, or what size plane you recommend best for OS GGT 15

[@RCJim]

It would give you a fair bit of extra power. An OS Max 65AX develops 1.73 HP. Since the 95 four stroke (FS-95V) would have just a little less power than that, I expect it would be commonly used as a substitute, even though it is nearly 100g heavier. The GGT 15 is only 18g heavier than the 95 four stroke, but develops significantly more power than either the 65AX or FS-95V. So, you should do well with the GGT 15 on a 60 size plane.

[@mblaber2000]

I guess the outrunner is like the old rotary engines with potential gyroscopic force of rotating mass. Might induce differential effects on left vs right roll/turns?

[@RCJim]

I'm trimming it in straight level flight. I'm wondering about air entering the big hole in the nose coming from straight ahead, then spinning around inside and shooting out sideways, giving a bit of sideways "thrust" out of that cavity.

[@mrvoyagerm]

@@RCJim You will not notice anything other than all the extra power while flying.

[@budmartin8297]

Most of my electric planes will definitely roll faster with the prop (under power) than against it, but it's not that much of a difference. You can get a torque roll on tack off with some planes if power is added too fast...just like glow planes. I've never noticed a gyroscopic effect (yaw) caused by a spinning motor.

[@mrvoyagerm]

Your statement regarding electric motors overheating and causing fires tells me that you have chosen a prop or esc or battery that is not suited to your application. I fly 10 up to 22lb electric aircraft and have done so for many years without ever overheating anything. My H9 1/4 scale Fokker flies on a 150 amp esc, 12s and a 60cc equivalent Admiral motor turning a 24 x 10 Falcon prop at 7400 RPM drawing 119 AMPS reliably and efficiently and has done so many many times. This winter I will be converting my last airplane (1/4 scale BUSA cub) from glow to electric.

[@RCJim]

Thanks "Mr Voyager M". That's a valid point, and I agree fully. I've only fried one ESC, and it had already shown signs of overheating from the previous owner's use. In my case, the problem most likely was the ESC being in the governor mode, without my being aware of that, and having the prop dig into the ground when the plane nosed over when I gave it the throttle without holding back on the elevator stick. So, if we use an appropriate prop, have property sized components and don't use our planes to roto-till the ground, we should be OK. But those are important "ifs" that electric flyers should be aware of. At our club we have had one plane come down in flames, setting fire to the bush, and more than one come down with smoke not being generated purposefully! Jim

[@mrvoyagerm]

@@RCJim I find that if after you land you can touch the motor can, the ESC and the batteries without sensing much a lot of heat, then all is well. I've had the same airplanes and batteries since I retired eight years ago and am using them again today.

[@marcobuonavita2757]

Sottotitoli please

[@RCJim]

Hi Marco, Yes, I do need to work out how to add captions to my videos. I'll look into it.

[@marcobuonavita2757]

Now It Is ok tank yuo

[@davidoneal4819]

The sound of an electric plane though 🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@RCJim]

Yes, David, there is something about a combusion engine that moves the soul. Now, all we need is a V12 for my Mustang!